Age of the Nandas and Mauryas c11.s33.1

c11.s33.1

From other geographical references in the inscriptions we may form some idea of the scheme of Aśoka's administration of the empire. Pāṭaliputra (Patna) was the capital, as in the days of Aśoka's grandfather Chandragupta³. Kośāmbi (Kosam on the Jamna about 28 miles above Allahabad), Ujjeni, Takshaśilā (Taxila), Suvarṇagiri (perhaps modern Zonnagiri in the neighbourhood of Yerraguḍi⁴). with Isila (Siddhāpura) as a subordinate division, and Tosali (Dhauli) and Sāmapā (near Jaugaḍa) in the Kalinga country are important centres of provincial administration that are expressly mentioned. There might have been others. Thus in an inscription of A.D. 150 the Yavanarāja Tushaspa is said to have represented Aśoka's authority in Kathiawad. The Viceroys of Tosali and Ujjeni are called Kumāra in the Kalinga edicts; and Ayaputa (Āryaputra) is the term by which the viceroy of Suvarṇagiri is described in the Mysore (Brahmagiri-Siddhāpura) edicts, and they were obviously princes of the imperial royal family. The more generic term for provincial officers is Mahāmātra. The two Kumāras were probably sons of the king. Rock-Edict V (M) mentions the harems of the king's brothers, of his sisters and other relatives both in the capital and in all the outlying towns, a clear indication that the king availed himself freely of the assistance of his relatives in carrying on the administration of the empire.